First lady Betty Ford and Vittoria Leone, left, wife of Italian President Giovanni Leone, watch as their husbands review the honor guard on Sept. 25, 1974 on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo)

Today is Sunday, Sept. 20, the 264th day of 2020. There are 102 days left in the year.

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Today’s Highlight in History

On Sept. 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria, the strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 years, struck the island, wiping out as much as 75 percent of the power distribution lines and causing an island-wide blackout.

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Former Astronaut John H. Glenn, who was the first American to orbit the earth, has a twig in his in his mouth as he gets set to take a spin in his 18-foot run about, Sept. 23, 1964, Houston, Texas. Glenn has been recovering from an inner ear disorder and has hopes of complete recovery in two or three months. Glenn received the inner ear disorder from a fall he suffered in Columbus, Ohio. Glenn says that he is looking to 1965 and a brighter year. (AP Photo)

On this date

In 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew set out from Spain on five ships to find a western passage to the Spice Islands. (Magellan was killed enroute, but one of his ships eventually circled the world.)

In 1873, panic swept the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the wake of railroad bond defaults and bank failures.

In 1881, Chester A. Arthur was sworn in as the 21st president of the United States, succeeding the assassinated James A. Garfield.

In 1958, Martin Luther King Jr. was seriously wounded during a book signing at a New York City department store when he was stabbed in the chest by Izola Curry. (Curry was later found mentally incompetent; she died at a Queens, New York, nursing home in 2015 at age 98.)

The Dalai Lama, exiled political leader of Tibet, flashes the peace symbol during his visit to the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia on Saturday, Sept. 22, 1990. The Dalai Lama was in town to address students at the University of Pennsylvania. (AP Photo)

In 1962, James Meredith, a Black student, was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Democratic Gov. Ross R. Barnett. (Meredith was later admitted.)

In 1963, President Kennedy proposed a joint U-S-Soviet expedition to the moon.

In 1967, the Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 was christened by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in Clydebank, Scotland.

In 1973, singer-songwriter Jim Croce died in a plane crash near Natchitoches, Louisiana; he was 30.

In 1984, a suicide car bomber attacked the U.S. Embassy annex in north Beirut, killing at least 14 people, including two Americans and 12 Lebanese. The family sitcoms “The Cosby Show” and “Who’s the Boss?” premiered on NBC and ABC, respectively.

Legendary musician, Ray Charles, performs at the piano during the taping of "Ray Charles: 50 Years in Music, uh-huh," a benefit musical gala for Starlight/Starbright Foundation in Pasadena, Calif. on Sept. 20, 1991. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

In 1995, in a move that stunned Wall Street, AT&T Corporation announced it was splitting into three companies.

In 2000, Independent Counsel Robert Ray announced the end of the Whitewater investigation, saying there was insufficient evidence to warrant charges against President and Mrs. Clinton.

In 2001, during an address to a joint session of Congress, President George W. Bush announced a new Cabinet-level office to fortify homeland security and named Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge its director.

Ten years ago: The United Nations opened a three-day Millennium Development Goals summit to assess members’ progress in the decade since promising to end global poverty. President Barack Obama reached out to skeptical voters who were still hurting long after the declared end of the recession, imploring them to stick with him in upcoming midterm congressional elections.

Five years ago: Pope Francis met with Fidel Castro after urging tens of thousands of Cubans to serve one another and not an ideology during a Mass in Havana’s Plaza of the Revolution. The CEO of Volkswagen apologized and VW customers said they felt duped after the Environmental Protection Agency revealed that the German automaker had skirted clean air rules by rigging emissions tests for about 500,000 diesel cars. At the Emmys, the HBO series “Game of Thrones” won a record 12 awards; Viola Davis became the first Black woman to win an Emmy for best drama series actress for “How to Get Away with Murder.” Poet C.K. Williams, 78, died in Hopewell, New Jersey. Actor Jack Larson, 87, TV’s Jimmy Olsen in “Adventures of Superman,” died in Los Angeles.

One year ago: President Donald Trump angrily defended himself against a complaint from an intelligence official over his contacts with the president of Ukraine; he said the complaint came from a “partisan whistleblower,” even though Trump also said he didn’t know who had made it. Walmart said it would stop selling electronic cigarettes at its namesake stores and at Sam’s Clubs in the U.S. once it sold out of its existing inventory. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged that he had let down his supporters, and all Canadians of color, by appearing years earlier in brownface and blackface. Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, the 1979 site of the nation’s worst commercial nuclear power accident, was shut down by its owner after producing electricity for 45 years. Antonio Brown was released by the New England Patriots after a second woman accused him of sexual misconduct; he had played just one game since being signed by the Patriots.

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September 21

On Sept. 21, 1981, the Senate unanimously confirmed the nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female justice on the Supreme Court.

In 1937, “The Hobbit,” by J.R.R. Tolkien, was first published by George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. of London.

In 1970, “NFL Monday Night Football” made its debut on ABC-TV as the Cleveland Browns defeated the visiting New York Jets, 31-21.

In 2008, baseball said farewell to the original Yankee Stadium as the Bronx Bombers defeated the Baltimore Orioles 7-3.

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SEPTEMBER 22

On Sept. 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all slaves in rebel states should be free as of January 1, 1863.

In 1761, Britain’s King George III and his wife, Charlotte, were crowned in Westminster Abbey.

In 1776, during the Revolutionary War, Capt. Nathan Hale, 21, was hanged as a spy by the British in New York.

In 1949, the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb.

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SEPTEMBER 23

On Sept. 23, 1952, Sen. Richard M. Nixon, R-Calif., salvaged his vice-presidential nomination by appearing on television from Los Angeles to refute allegations of improper campaign fundraising in what became known as the “Checkers” speech.

In 63 B.C., Caesar Augustus, the first Roman emperor, was born.

In 1987, Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., withdrew from the Democratic presidential race following questions about his use of borrowed quotations and the portrayal of his academic record.

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SEPTEMBER 24

On September 24, 1789, President George Washington signed a Judiciary Act establishing America’s federal court system and creating the post of attorney general.

In 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower suffered a heart attack while on vacation in Denver.

In 1964, the situation comedy “The Munsters” premiered on CBS television. The adventures series “Daniel Boone,” starring Fess Parker, debuted on NBC.

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SEPTEMBER 25

On Sept. 25, 1957, nine Black students who’d been forced to withdraw from Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, because of unruly white crowds were escorted to class by members of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division.

In 1911, ground was broken for Boston’s Fenway Park.

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SEPTEMBER 26

On Sept. 26, 1960, the first-ever debate between presidential nominees took place as Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard M. Nixon faced off before a national TV audience from Chicago.

In 1777, British troops occupied Philadelphia during the American Revolution.

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